Sanford Stands by Disgraced Police Chief in Trayvon Martin Case

The Sanford City Commission, in a 3-2 vote Monday afternoon refused to accept disgraced Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee’s resignation. Sanford Mayor Jeff Triplett, who gave Lee a vote of “no confidence” in March for his handling of Trayvon Martin’s killing, said on Monday that he wanted to wait for an that they wanted to wait for the dust to settle to make any lasting decisions about Lee’s status.

Lee had officially offered to resign early Monday. City Manager Norton Bonaparte told commissioners that with Lee already temporarily sidelined, his resignation would allow Sanford to “move forward” after the national uproar over Martin’s death. Sanford police refused to arrest George Zimmerman, the self-appointed neighborhood watchperson who shot and killed Martin, an unarmed teenager.

The Orlando Sentinel reports: > “Is this something that can wait?” Triplett asked Bonaparte. “I’m not ready to have him [Lee] come back and run the Police Department yet. But I’m not ready for this, either. I’d rather wait for the investigation.” >

> Triplett was joined by Commissioners Patty Mahany and Randy Jones in rejecting Lee’s resignation.

According to CBS, commissioners blamed the ruckus surrounding Trayvon Martin’s death on “outsiders.”